Album of the Year #9: Tyler, the Creator - IGOR - HipHop | HipHop Channel

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Album of the Year #9: Tyler, the Creator - IGOR - HipHop

Album of the Year #9: Tyler, the Creator - IGOR - HipHop

Album of the Year #9: Tyler, the Creator - IGOR

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST

Artist: Tyler, the Creator

Album: IGOR

Listen:

YouTube

Spotify

Appple Music

Background

Ladera Heights, California's Tyler, the Creator has been one of hip-hop's most colourful, singular characters for the past 10 years. The rapper, producer, songwriter, music video director and fashion designer started off as the leader of L.A. rap group Odd Future, while his solo career began with the dark, grotesque and surprisingly emotional mixtape Bastard, released at the tail end of 2009. The mixtape eventually became a viral hit, due to its strange but compelling blend of punk-rock ethos, distorted synthesizers, grooves lifted from the Neptunes, and most importantly, Tyler's unmistakable voice rapping about things like skateboarding, cannibalism, and a variety of strong feelings towards his deadbeat dad. Some loved it, others hated it, but nobody could ignore it for too long. Combined with a unique visual aesthetic and a larger-than-life personality, the only place Tyler and crew could go from here was up.

In February 2011, Kanye West suddenly tweeted Tyler's striking music video for the eventual classic "Yonkers," calling it the "best music video of 2011." This was not even two weeks after he basically rewrote his entire song "Sandwitches," featuring Hodgy Beats, so that he could perform it on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Tyler then signed a one-album deal with XL Recordings, and released his debut album, Goblin, which landed at an impressive #5 on the Billboard 200 in its first week, eventually going gold in the USA and Canada. If that wasn't enough, that same "Yonkers" video won him the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, beating Wiz Khalifa and Big Sean in the process. Throughout all of 2011, Odd Future were inescapable, and their ride-or-die supporters were just as vocal as their harsh detractors. Among other things, they did have a penchant for rapping about raping women, and called people homophobic slurs on a pretty regular basis. Thankfully, it was not much longer before Tyler began one of the most bizarre, convoluted and thrilling character development arcs in recent hip-hop history.

On his 2013 second album, Wolf, Tyler traded his rape and dismemberment bars for a storyline about two guys at summer camp, Wolf and Samuel, stopping just short of killing each other over a girl named Salem, intercut with personal narratives like "Answer" and pure bangers like "Tamale." The production was much cleaner, and expanded even more on the jazz influence that always pervaded in Tyler's music. After proving his respectability to a doubting public, of course he followed it up with maybe his most polarizing album yet, 2015's Cherry Bomb. It was a strange blend of even mellower and happier jazzy pieces in the vein of about half of Wolf, and blown-out, distorted rave-ups, that nobody knew what to make of, and a lot of people still don't. However, it was 2017's Flower Boy that truly solidified his legacy, and opened him up to a wider audience. Except for "I Ain't Got Time!" and the A$AP Rocky-assisted "Who Dat Boy," (his first song to hit the Billboard Hot 100) Tyler was now entirely committed to lush, neo soul-tinged jazz rap, with a decidedly more mature perspective. Widely acclaimed as Tyler's greatest work, and as one of the best albums of 2017, it almost hit number one on the Billboard 200, until Lana Del Rey sold only 1,000 more units that week with her album, Lust For Life. However, that coveted title of number-one album is something that, oddly enough, Tyler finally achieved in 2019 with his fifth (or sixth) album, the bewitching and barely classifiable IGOR.

Review

Aight so boom, IGOR is pretty far from your typical Tyler, the Creator album. But at the same time, it does feel like a natural evolution from his last two albums. Its primary foundation is the distorted, chipmunk-voiced mood swings of Cherry Bomb, but now informed by the jazzy, earnest sentimentality of Flower Boy. IGOR attempts to find a middle ground between these two sides of Tyler; the exuberant, unpredictable problem child, and the level-headed, intelligent craftsman. His tendency towards using alter egos to communicate different sides of his own mind, as he did prominently on his first three albums, also shows up here as well, except this time in a much more streamlined fashion. The final product is the most wildly creative and musically adventurous album of his career, and probably the most emotionally complex as well. The album is also bolstered by an engaging and relatable, if not simple and sometimes confusing, narrative behind it (which Tyler has said was influenced by "deep infatuation.") However, the way that the music helps to propel this narrative, and all the different and powerful emotions that it brings out of an otherwise basic storyline, is what makes this album the magnum opus that it is.

Our journey begins with the celebratory prelude "IGOR'S THEME," which is our generation's equivalent to "Gonna Fly Now" and nobody will convince me otherwise. This intro is built on classic hip-hop drums, a distorted bassline, and tons of synthesizers and pianos all having a massive orgy - which sets the tone for the sound of the album, if not necessarily its mood or themes. Lyrics are few and far between, containing little more than an infectious hook from Lil Uzi Vert - "ridin' round town, they gon' feel this one" - performed only a few times, and some short phrases that bob in and out of the electrifying instrumental. Because of the song's nature, it's easy to take its title as exactly what it says on the tin - the theme song for "Igor," presumably Tyler's newest alter ego. Except "Igor" is not actually mentioned in this album for quite some time away from now - at least not directly.

From here, the album wastes no time jumping right into one of its high points with "EARFQUAKE," which ended up being Tyler's first top 40 hit. While Tyler is mostly known as a rapper, the first song on IGOR to have lead vocals from Tyler does not feature any of his rapping - he sings the whole time. And here's the thing about that; he can kinda sing...sort of? Either way, his voice is digitally altered to a much higher pitch, as if to portray a different state of his own mind, and this vocal distortion is going to be a recurring theme throughout IGOR. Where his limited singing ability comes in handy here is how it emphasizes the vulnerability in his voice, and the song's lyrics. But then Charlie Wilson and Jessy Wilson's (no relation) powerful background vocals come in right underneath that frail falsetto, highlighting the strength of Tyler's weakness, as they plead, "don't leave, it's my fault!" Musically, it functions like a throwback soul ballad filtered through G-funk rhythms, with some high, chirping synthesizers to match - and then probably half a dozen more synthesizers, because that's how this album goes.

The whole song effectively goes back and forth between two choruses, until the end, where Tyler drops the vocal filter and sings the bridge in his natural voice, before going back to the second chorus once more. The difference between the cinematic melodrama of Tyler's digitally-altered, high-pitched vocals at the beginning, and the straight-forward, raw humanity of his natural voice at the end, while they're both singing mostly the same melodies, is IGOR's heart and soul, captured in one convenient location. Also, since I haven't mentioned Playboi Carti's guest verse by now, it occurs halfway through repeated choruses, over no drums or bassline - and indeed, little more than piano chords and Tyler's background harmonizing, which brings out a different side of Carti's bizarre, artfully simplistic flow than we're used to hearing on his own music. It seems like Carti was placed here with no regard to the album's (or song's) themes, but simply to lighten the mood for a little while, and that he certainly does.

This brilliant single is instantly followed by "I THINK," a funky, poppy song about falling in love, which also contains Tyler's first rap verses on the album, and this time he performs the whole thing in his natural voice. This is the beginning of the album's core narrative, but this does come right after a song where he was just begging his love interest not to leave him. Under the assumption that these songs are all about the same person, why would Tyler put that one song out of order at the beginning? (Or maybe he just put "EARFQUAKE" semi-first cause he knew it would be the big hit.) Either way, Tyler and Solange singing "I think I'm falling in love / this time I think it's for real / how can I tell you?" is a simple but sweet expression of love's early stages. However, before we even have time for a second chorus, he's already told the object of his affections, "I'm your puppet, you are Jim Henson." (This line will come up again later on.) From here, we can piece together that Tyler gets very attached, very fast, especially because the audience doesn't even know the relationship status of these two yet. This will be important to understand as the album continues.

"Exactly what you run from, you end up chasing. Like, you can't avoid, but just chasing it and just like trying. Giving it everything that you can. There's always an obstacle."

This is the first of many spoken interludes throughout the album by comedian Jerrod Carmichael. On IGOR, Jerrod acts as a narrator, giving us a more clear and reliable interpretation of Tyler's mental state as the album progresses. The idea of running away from the same things you end up chasing - like, for example, your feelings for someone else - is a predominant one on the album.

The next song, "RUNNING OUT OF TIME," (notice the "running" theme here) is a low-key R&B ballad that sees the return of Tyler's distorted singing voice. By now, we can infer that his newfound love for this mystery guy (and yes, I'm pretty sure it's a guy) is already causing him some pain, as he sings about how he's "running out of time / to make you love me." The musical backdrop during Tyler's verses consists of little more than a soft electric piano, on top of a heavily distorted bassline, to accentuate the underlying frustration behind his own vulnerability. But of course, those damn synthesizers come back for both choruses, as his voice conveys a stronger sense of urgency. From here, two bite-sized rap verses, performed in his natural voice, are separated by a sudden explosion in drums and synthesizers, which settles back down to just that bass and piano in the blink of an eye. Tyler doubles down on the idea that this guy he loves is "living in pretend," insisting that "I know the real you." As we're still wondering why his outlook has taken such a negative turn, one of these passing lines reveals the reason for his anguish; "take your mask off, I need her out the picture." So now we know there's another girl involved, and from here it won't take much longer for Tyler to spiral into uncontrollable jealousy. In fact, it's actually in the next song on the tracklist.

"Sometimes you gotta close a door to open a window."

This is where things start to go out of control. Jerrod is already communicating to us that the only way to escape whatever is troubling you is to leave something behind and not look back. In Tyler's case, this might mean forgetting about this guy, but Jerrod's statement is poorly timed, as the album's greatest moment, "NEW MAGIC WAND," makes clear. On top of a filthy, growling bassline, and propulsive quasi-trap drums, Tyler's altered voice now makes him sound like a bona fide loony tune, especially given the content of the lyrics. He repeats an idea from the last song - "I need to get her out the picture / She's really fucking up my frame" - before a Dirty South-like chant comes in, proposing a solution to his problem; "Like magic, gone! / New magic wand!" Perhaps he's referring to the Photoshop tool that might literally "get her out the picture," but given the rest of the song's lyrics, he probably means a gun that he can use to fucking kill her. Or he's collecting a check from Hitachi. (It's also worth noting that he said "I been runnin' out of spells" in passing on "RUNNING OUT OF TIME," and this next song is entirely built on a magic-related metaphor.)

The deterioration of Tyler's mental state is obvious all over this song, especially during its climatic chorus. At first, he's just awkwardly singing "please don't leave me now" over and over, punctuated by another "don't leave" sound bite from Santigold, a clear call back to "EARFQUAKE." This is later joined in by the same chant from before, and then Santigold lets out a long "I can make her le-e-e-eave" to build even more tension, while his vocals remain stoic. This is until Tyler suddenly kicks into maximum overdrive, and as he yells out all of his frustrations with this guy, and his plan to kill the girl that's stopping him from being with the guy, the line "we can finally be together" brings it all to a screeching halt. Probably because Tyler's been habitually talking about them like they're already a couple, between "she's not developed like we are," and of course his repeated pleading for this guy to not leave him. The bridge offers some momentary calm as he continues to elaborate, before simulated sirens carry us into one final blast of aggression. Tyler rips through a rap verse with some of the most dexterous flows we've ever heard from him, as another mountain of synthesizers pile onto the already hectic beat, blowing off all of the steam that he hadn't managed to blow off already.

Speaking of gun metaphors, this manic burst of jealousy is immediately followed by what seems to be a more level-headed track, "A BOY IS A GUN," which is probably the album's major turning point. A soothing soul sample, and some comparatively subdued synthesizers, drives Tyler's rapping into a more normal frame of mind. His voice is still altered, but here it's just barely noticeable, so we can infer that he's only a little nuts this time. By now, he's become a bit more honest with himself about what this guy means to him; "how come you're the best to me? I know you're the worst for me." The lyrics see him going back and forth between finally growing tired of the bullshit and still holding onto his unshakeable attachment. At this point, he's realized that this guy is bringing out the worst in him, and some questionable behaviour on Tyler's part surfaces; he says "oh, you wanna go home? Cool, better call you a cab / I ain't takin' you home, yeah, I'm brushin' you off," and then you can count on one hand the seconds it takes before he suddenly says "don't leave, stay right here, yeah, I want you right near / You invited me to breakfast, why the fuck your ex here?" It's also interesting that he is already referring to the girl as this guy's ex; he might be telling the truth about that, but everything he's said up until now makes me think otherwise. Finally, he ends the song by repeatedly telling the guy to "stay the fuck away from me." So by now, Tyler's done with the games and the self-torment, and he's done thinking about this guy. Until he isn't.

The next song, "PUPPET," is the sound of Tyler taking all of the personal progress he barely made on "A BOY IS A GUN" and flushing it straight down the toilet. He's totally submissive, rapping in a slightly more altered tone, in frantic triplets as he lyrically details the severity of his obsession with this guy. The self-awareness follows soon after, as he ponders, "I am startin' to wonder / Is this my free will or yours?" before the rest of the song sees him dejectedly singing, "I'm your puppet, you control me / I'm your puppet, I don't know me." (This is where that line from "I THINK" comes up again, like I said it would.) This is all underscored by loosely rhythmic drums, mournful string arrangements and another distorted bassline, combined with the weakness apparent in his vocals, to paint a picture of his desperation. This song also features none other than Kanye West, and he manages to get in "you lost, son, and you've been tryna find your way to me" before it devolves into indecipherable, borderline nonsense, as if there is ultimately no hope for Tyler after all. (It also probably means there was no hope for Kanye to finish writing his verse.) From here, the music switches to eerie wordless vocals and a hellish harpsichord sample, and it seems like he's finally reached rock bottom.

"But at some point, you come to your senses."

This line from Jerrod arrives with much more convenient timing. "WHAT'S GOOD" is essentially just that: Tyler coming to his senses. The song sees him rapping the whole time, in his natural voice, but with plenty of overdrive on his vocals for good measure, over a beat with heavy funk and hard rock influences. (Well, we know how much he loves N.E.R.D.) As for lyrics, this song is not remotely about the guy that these past few songs have been about, and sees Tyler resorting to pure shit-talking and braggadocio. Also, remember when I was writing about "IGOR'S THEME" and I said "Igor" would not be named for a while? Well, here he is; "if the cops ask my name, bitch, I'm Igor!" It seems like this is Tyler's latest alter ego, representing his cocky, confident side. Halfway through, the beat abruptly switches to a different guitar riff than before, giving way to a hyper-distorted trap breakdown, where "Igor" drops a verse about a near-death experience. In addition to the nasty car crash Tyler got into last year, of course, this may also be a metaphor for his heartbreak almost killing his ability to be confident in himself, hence almost killing "Igor." In the background for this whole section has been English rapper slowthai repeatedly saying "I see the light," alternating between speaking, whispering and yelling, adapting his voice as the music changes. I point this out because not only does it make this song's themes and impact even stronger, but because his album this year, Nothing Great About Britain, is also excellent, and you should listen to that if you haven't already.

"I don't know what's harder, letting go or just being okay with it."

After "Igor" comes in and shows Tyler the light, the album transitions into "GONE, GONE / THANK YOU," following the great Tyler tradition of track 10 on every album being a two-parter. "GONE, GONE" starts off as a bright, summery, endearing pop song, and it's one of the sweetest things Tyler's ever released. Here, he seems to be playing with the double meaning of "my love's gone," referring to both the love he felt for this guy being gone, and the guy himself being gone from his life as well, but the almost suffocating joy apparent in the music behind it more strongly suggests the former interpretation. However, he does still manage to sneak a little bit of jealousy and spite into even as bright and sunny of a moment as this; "I just hope to God she got good taste / Could put you on some shit you never seen / Could play a couple songs that you could dance to / I hope you know she can't compete with me." Even with these moments, the joy that Tyler has found in his own personal growth, and emotional detachment from this guy at last, is clear as day. Whether or not he's truly let go, he seems to be okay with it.

Eventually, the instrumental switches from the sunny pop arrangements to the same drum track as before, but this time it's driven by a vocal sample of the Goodie Mob's Cee-Lo Green singing "my love is gone," gradually decreasing in pitch. Up until now, all of Tyler's own vocals have been pitched up to the highest they'll ever get on the album, but now his voice is absolutely raw to deliver a rap verse that serves as the album's truest moment of clarity. The narrative has been somewhat confusing and unreliable up to this point, but now all of the facades and hazy details are gone, and he tells us what really happened, driven by a brilliant construction metaphor. It seems like Tyler and this guy were friends at first, before Tyler fell in love with him, and for whatever reason, thought he might feel the same way too. It's still kind of up in the air to what degree these two were attached; maybe they just had a little fling, maybe they were official, maybe he was the side piece and just figured it out now. (Or maybe nothing ever happened and Tyler's just delusional.) But either way, whatever these two nice young fellas had, the other guy's "new tenant" (the girl) fucked it all up, and now Tyler has no choice but to move on and forget about him. To come to his senses. To close the door so he can open a window. To run from the feelings that he ended up chasing. To finally find peace.

"I hate wasted potential, that shit crushes your spirit. It really does, it crushes your soul."

The second (third?) part of this track, "THANK YOU," is built around a lo-fi, deconstructed instrumental, with somewhat somber arrangements, but oddly joyful melodies. Here, Tyler's vocals are both high-pitched and heavily distorted, and the lyrics are surprisingly bitter for someone who just made a whole song about moving on: "Thank you for the love, thank you for the joy / But I don't ever want to fall in love again." This simple chorus is repeated a couple of times before the song finally ends. It seems like this six-minute emotional rollercoaster is IGOR's moment of closure, but there's still two more songs left. Now that Tyler has embraced his reality, will he stay successfully adapted to it? Or will he regress to his former desperate self?

If the next song, "I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE," is any indicator... it's still difficult to tell. The song is a slow and somber ballad, starting off with a comparatively minimal arrangement, as well as vocals from Tyler that are muffled and distorted, but left in his natural pitch. Lyrically, it's exactly what it says on the tin; he's convincing himself he doesn't love this guy anymore. He actually keeps it up for the first verse: "I won't walk around with my head down like I got beat up / Um, you do you, I'll do me, I'll just chuck the peace up." This is also essentially IGOR's final rap verse. But then the chorus is mostly driven by a scratchy (and probably still altered) falsetto repeatedly stumbling out "I don't love you anymore!" in a way that reeks of desperation. So now even his ability to move on is anyone's guess. From here, the song transitions into a more happy-sounding bridge, even as Tyler admits "I don't love like I used to" and wonders "where did time go?" It doesn't take much longer for before he laments that he "put my feelings in the lost and found / Now I'm stuck, forever, and ever, and ever..." Given all of this, it's hard to be surprised when the backup singers ask "can I have my heart back?" right before the chorus comes back one last time.

"ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?" is the final song on IGOR, an attempt at a classic soul ballad, and another song where Tyler does not rap at all. Excluding "IGOR'S THEME," which was basically a prelude where he only had backing vocals, IGOR is book-ended with two songs ("EARFQUAKE" and this one) where Tyler sings the whole time. Except in contrast to the altered falsetto on "EARFQUAKE," his singing voice is free of any noticeable effects, which helps the song feel particularly raw on an album that's been so emotionally mysterious up until now. This rawness is also aided by the deliberately sloppy and repetitive nature of the song - for the first 3 minutes, most of the lyrics are just the titular question, "are we still friends?" The ramshackle instrumental, built on an Al Green sample, perfectly underscores Tyler's fractured state of mind. After the second chorus, the instrumental slowly fades into a cloud of soft chords, until a bluesy guitar solo (apparently from none other than Jack White) quietly rears its head from beneath the surface. This whole section is kept very low in the mix, which sounds like some kind of mistake, until the chorus comes back one more time, sounding more dramatic and powerful than ever, thanks to that mixing. Before long, Tyler is joined by Pharrell himself, and they sing one last verse, where they suggest that he really does just want to be friends, with no romantic expectations. However, if the obvious desperation in his raw singing wasn't enough of a dead giveaway, he closes the whole song by yelling "can't say goodbye" basically at the top of his lungs. So when all is said and done, IGOR might not exactly have a satisfying ending for Tyler, but that's just the way love is sometimes, isn't it?

Musically, IGOR incorporates a wide range of stylistic influences - jazz, funk, soul, hard rock, classic hip-hop, even a little trap, and no shortage of pop either. The production on the album is consistently fantastic, as the massive piles of synthesizers hammering out jazzy chord progressions, and unusual but infectious melodies never wear thin. Meanwhile, the beats also have so much distortion and dust all over them, and that creates a unique contrast, and also helps to put the album's themes into stronger perspective. As for Tyler himself, he can still rap his ass off when he needs to, and his often distorted vocals, combined with his admittedly questionable singing ability, actually do work to the album's benefit, by communicating his own instability in a way that his words might not always directly admit. This casting of himself as an unreliable narrator helps him write songs that connect to different listeners with different experiences, so long as the unifying theme of love driving people nuts is holding it all together. A long-running theme throughout Tyler's musical career has been maturity, both in his music itself and the discussion surrounding it, and this album makes masterful use of both its wisest and most juvenile moments, and juxtaposes them brilliantly. The album is both melodramatic and understated at the same time. It simultaneously sounds as ornately crafted as the Sistine Chapel, and as broken as most of our hearts have been at some point or another. Musically adventurous, lyrically open-ended but still relatable, and emotionally intricate and engaging, IGOR is one that they are definitely gon' feel for a very long time.

Favourite Lyrics

"I wanna be found, passenger in your car / You wanna give me mixed signals, don't park / She's gonna be dead, I just got a magic wand / We can finally be together" -Tyler, the Creator on "NEW MAGIC WAND"

"Look, they be bringin' us up, yeah, like now and again / Give a fuck what they talkin' 'bout, I see you as a 10 / I'ma leave it at that, I'ma leave us as friends / 'Cause the irony is I don't wanna see you again / Stay the fuck away from me" -Tyler, the Creator on "A BOY IS A GUN*"

"Bouncing off things and you don't know how you fall / Your power is drained, so you cannot go through walls / You're caught in this matrix, don't know where you play it / You hate it, it could be your favorite if you make it your friend" -Pharrell on "ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?"

"We had two different blueprints, but understood her fluent / She opened up early on, I thought I had a permit / You started building a bridge and turned it into a fence / Then my building got tore down all because of your new tenant / I'll just buy up some new shit, never down with a lease / You never lived in your truth, I'm just happy I lived in it / But I finally found peace, so peace" -Tyler, the Creator on "GONE, GONE / THANK YOU"

"RIDIN' ROUND TOWN THEY GON' FEEL THIS ONE, RIDIN' ROUND TOWN THEY GON' FEEL THIS ONE AAAHHAAAAAAAHHHHAAHHHH" -Lil Uzi Vert on "IGOR'S THEME"

Talking Points

  • What did y'all think of IGOR? What were your first impressions? Did your feelings about it change over time? How do you feel about it now?

  • How does this compare to the rest of Tyler's discography? Not just in terms of quality, how different or similar to his other albums do you think IGOR is?

  • Are we looking at a future classic? Do you think IGOR is gonna end up having some kind of long-term impact or influence? If so, how do you think that will manifest itself?

  • Maturity has been a point of discussion within and surrounding Tyler's music for as long as he's been active. How mature or immature would you say IGOR is overall?

  • As far as artistic direction is concerned, where do you think Tyler will go from here? How do you think, or hope, he will evolve as an artist in the future?

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Daily Discussion Thread 01/10/2020

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 02:24 PM PST

Welcome to the /r/hiphopheads daily discussion thread!

This thread is for:

  • objective questions with right/wrong answers (e.g. "Does anyone know what is happening with MIXTAPE?", "What is the sample in SONG?")
  • general hip-hop discussion
  • meta posts...e.g. ideas for the sub

Thread Guidelines

  • Do not create a separate self post for these types of discussions outside of this thread - if you do, your post will be removed, as stated in the guidelines.

  • Please be helpful and friendly.

  • If a question has been asked many times before, provide a link to a thread that contains the answer.

Weekly/Monthly Threads

Other ways to interact

There are a number of other ways to interact with other members of HHH:

New to /r/hiphopheads or hip-hop in general?

Check out these:

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The Fresh Prince proves he still got bars after being put on the spot by Sway

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KENNY BEATS & BOOGIE FREESTYLE | The Cave: Season 2 - Episode 6

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 12:03 PM PST

Metro Boomin - Overdue (with Travis Scott)

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 02:59 PM PST

Juice WRLD Freestyling to Codeine Crazy

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Yung Lean -- Emails

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Mick Jenkins - Padded Locks (Feat Ghostface Killah) [Prod by KAYTRANADA]

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[FRESH] Wiley - Eediyat Skengman 3 (Stormzy Send)

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST

Korn Star Announces A Show With Kanye West: “This Just Got More Interesting”

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 01:18 PM PST

Director X talks Future and Drake Life Is Good video: "“It was Drake’s concept."

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 10:02 AM PST

[FRESH VIDEO] Rapsody - Afeni ft. PJ Morton

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 05:39 PM PST

[Fresh Video] Smoke DZA x Benny The Butcher - By Any Means

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 10:35 AM PST

Jorja Smith - Lost & Found

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 08:21 AM PST

Rap History: Big L in the Studio in 1995 & 1998 | Recording with Kid Capri, Big Pun, Charlie Hustle

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 04:47 PM PST

On Jan. 11, Rapper Noname Wants You To Register For A Library Card

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 08:24 PM PST

Last.fm 2019 year-end Listening Reports are here!

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 09:35 AM PST

https://www.last.fm/user/_/listening-report/year

Or, alternatively, just go to your profile and it should be at the middle-right of the page (desktop).

Feel free to share yours! [Here](https://www.last.fm/user/hvlk/listening-report/year) is mine.

Happy 2020 hhh :)

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[FRESH] Tyga, Takeoff, DJ Carnage & Shoreline Mafia - Hella Neck

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 05:26 PM PST

Lil Wayne admitted owning gold pistol on jet, records show. He said it was a Father’s Day gift

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 02:09 PM PST

Dilated peoples - you can't hide you can't run

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 01:34 PM PST

Bitch Please II - Eminem ft. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 11:13 PM PST

Aquemini by Outkast- Song Breakdown

Posted: 10 Jan 2020 09:56 PM PST

Intro- The title track to Outkast third album, Aquemini, is a small example of the themes displayed throughout the rest of the album. The track is built entirely on a theme of duality, and uses this format to convey its message. The song contains two verses from Andre and Big Boi, one verse for each section of the track, which is split into two parts. The subject matter of the verses is derived from the hook, which has two possible interpretations, each Outkast member discusses one of these interpretations in their verses. The first interpretation of the hook is handled by Big Boi, and discusses the unity found within Outkast, this is a reference to the album's title, which is a combination of the zodiac signs possessed by Andre and Big Boi. The hook's second interpretation focuses on how Andre, after achieving fame, was reborn in a way, and is now having trouble uniting the two sides of his personality. This is a reference to Andre's Gemini Zodiac sign, which is based around duality and opposites. Andre is only one of a long line of rappers who have used their Gemini sign to push a message in their music, whether it be how Tupac Shukur used his to show both his violent and compassionate sides, or how Kendrick Lamar used his to show his conflicting feelings of fame on his album To Pimp A Butterfly. Andre uses his verse to draw a parallel between his pre-fame self, who was raised in a ghetto environment, and his current self, who can see the issues within that environment for what they are.

Hook- As previously stated, the song's hook contains two meanings, the first of which revolves around the unity of Outkast. Andre essentially says that nothing is forever in this hook, referencing how even heroes must one day die. This line is an obvious reference to Outkast, since Big Boi compares them to the dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin within the verse that follows, and Outkast displayed themselves as superheroes on the cover of their second studio album "ATLiens". Andre then says, "Horoscopes often lie, and sometimes "y", nothing is for sure, nothing is for certain, nothing last forever". This line carries a double meaning, while Andre could be making reference to the lying nature of horoscopes, and the possibility of "y" being a vowel to show the uncertainty of Outkast's partnership, he also might be focusing this line on himself. Andre could be saying that horoscopes are often wrong, and even though Gemini's are supposed to have two separate sides, he believes he can unite them, as he will try to do later in the song. Andre's following line could also be heard as "And sometimes why", which is a shortened way of saying that sometimes he wonders why. Andre is showing with this line, that he is a curious person, and often wonders about things many do not, such as why the sun must go down or why heroes must die. Andre will constantly question his surroundings in his verses, and this line gives the listener a taste of what to expect. Andre ends the verse by saying "Until they close the curtain, it's him and I: Aquemini". This line is another obvious reference to Outkast, and Dre is saying that until they break up, he and Big Boi will always be a team. However Andre is also speaking about himself here, and the Him and I he references, could be a representation of his two sides.

Big Boi's Verse- In the song's first verse, Big Boi tells of his relationship with Andre, and how with him, he feels unstoppable, Big also spits some signature Outkast advice, informing the listener about how to save their money and become successful from nothing, just like Outkast did. Big Boi begins his verse telling listeners that now is the time to ride with Outkast because they are on the come up. He then references a time before the fame when he had to hustle and sell drugs to make ends meet, but now his music is the new drug, consumed by thousands of fans. Big Boi shows that without he and Andre's partnership they never would have seen all this fame, using a call and response line directly after this, where in, someone asks him how he plans to ride through a dangerous part of town without a gun, and he responds by saying that he is strapped and rolls with Andre like a superhero. Big Boi is playing with the idea of being strapped here, instead of having a gun, Big Boi has Andre, and together they are unstoppable. No one would dare try to cross a united Outkast. Andre carries a similar sentiment on the earlier track, "Return of the G", where he begins his verse saying that since others try to take his fame with their piece, he is forced to unload on them with his "piece", AKA a verbal assault on them from Outkast. Big Boi then says that he and Dre have fought through hard times together, even slipping into the gangster lifestyle when the situation demanded it. However, through saving their money, being wise, and working hard, they pulled themselves out of this lifestyle. This verse perfectly captures the strength in unity held by Outkast, and later in the song, Andre will use Big Boi's messages to find unity within himself.

Andre's Verse- As stated in the hook breakdown, Andre uses his verse to cover the split within himself, and the unity he is searching for. He begins his verse with the line, "Twice upon a time, there was a boy who died, Lived happily ever after, but that's another chapter". This line sets up exactly what Andre's verse will be. He tells the listener of what he discovered about his environment after his metaphorical death and rebirth. It seems that while Andre was able to gain fame due to the unity he and Big Boi shared, his fame also allowed him to fully understand the environment he grew up in, and all it's problems. This led to a rift within Dre, between the unenlightened version of himself, which contributed to many issues within his environment, and the enlightened Andre, who regrets the mistakes of his past-self. Andre outlines some of the regrettable situations he's found himself in by telling a story of his environment as a youth. He describes his home as one filled with hustlers and gangsters, who couldn't see the dangers of what they were doing. Many of these people were arrested for bragging about their gangster lifestyle, and a younger Andre did much of the same, counting himself lucky to have avoided a similar fate. He also makes reference to a series of grizzley child murders that occured in home city of Atlanta when he was young, where in black children were the main target. The message Andre is trying to convey here is that throughout his life, his careless behavior has led to near downfall, and he asks the listener to hear him out and attempt to be more cautious about their own lives. He finishes the verse by saying that while he's now attempting to spread a positive and wise message in his music, many don't take it seriously. This is due to some believing that Andre doesn't know what he's talking about, since a few critics believe he's just another mindless rapper, and some people living in the streets thinking Andre is just a downer and out of touch with reality. Andre closes the verse by saying not to judge a book by it's cover, ending with the line, "It's Outkast Aquemini, another black experience". This lyric simultaneously tells those who believe he's too gangster, to disregard his street image and accept him as an advocate for change, and ask those who believe he's out of touch, to consider him as they would any other rapper. It's apparent from this verse that Andre has been reborn as a man of change and wants to completely shed his past actions. However, like Big Boi was able to show in his verse, the life Outkast experienced before fame contains some of the most valuable lessons they have to offer.

Outkast's Verse- While the final two verses are definitely separate they flow together as one verse, and show the unity achieved by the song's end. Big Boi begins the song with a proud declaration of who he is, stating that even though he's achieved fame, he still shows love for the streets. This seems like a direct response to Andre's verse, and the rest of Big Boi's lyrics will similarly address the idea of Andre trying to deny his street past. He follows this line by saying that Outkast is using their fame and music to spread a positive message of empowerment , and through spreading this message are writing the wrongs of their past, almost like going to a church confessional. Big Boi also brings up the comparison between guns and Outkast's messages with the line, You bust rhyme, we bust back". "Busting" is often associated with shooting a gun, and Big Boi is saying that he and Andre have traded in their guns for lyrics. Big Boi ends his verse by warning those who attempt to criticize Outkast that they, "can't come near them''. Because the Aquarius and Gemini and running the game as the Aquemini. Big Boi explores many things in his verse, but focuses on how a life full of sin is acceptable, as long as one acknowledges their past mistakes and learns from them. So far, Andre has denied his past life, and he won't be complete until he comes to terms with it, Andre addresses this idea within his verse. He begins the verse by saying that his mind is a lion's den of sorts, it's a dangerous place where his two warring sides are competing for control. However, along with Big Boi's messages of unity, Andre finds a solution to this through his research of the world. He talks about progressive ideas such as how black people are the original men of earth, and how all people are the true controllers of their life. He says, "Sin all depends on what you believeing in", and this line shows how after Big Boi's comparison of Outkast's music to a church confessional, Andre has decided to accept both parts of himself, the good and the bad, and use the bad to warn others about the dangers of street life, and repent for his past sins. He is taking control of his life and faith, and becoming whole. He finishes the song by saying that he sees fake and dangerous people around him all the time, and if he is to protect himself from these temptations, he must be a united person. Andre closes the song by saying, "Andre, this is Andre, y'all are just gon' have to make amends". Finally, Andre unites both parts of his personality, to become the best version of himself he can be. Andre finds strength within his two halves, just like how Andre and Big Boi find strength within each other, Aquarius and Gemini coming together to form the Aquemini.

Ending- The song concludes with a final declaration of the hook, however this time it's in reference to how even though there are sure to always be uncertain things within Outkast, Big Boi and Dre will always have each others back. Such as how when Andre began to feel lost and wanted to put his street life behind, him Big Boi was there to tell him that it's an important part of his life, and without it he would have never been able to grow and succeed. "Aquemini" sees Andre growing as a person, and the eternal bond between Outkast's members becoming stronger than ever through trial and tribulation.

I'm currently working on a deeper breakdown of the full Outkast Aquemini album, but this is probably my favorite song and i feel like it had so much to say so I thought I would drop a deeper breakdown of it early before I release the full album dissection.

submitted by /u/Eli081504
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